


Eternally

by meyari



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/M, Family, Headcanon, M/M, Reincarnation, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-02-20
Packaged: 2018-01-13 05:01:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1213663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meyari/pseuds/meyari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Timothy Drake is only the latest name that he's used. Tim is actually immortal like Ra's, his Beloved, though Tim's method of surviving eternity has more to do with reincarnation than it does with extending his lifespan. Despite eons of being born, living and dying, Tim still has things to learn from life and those that he loves the most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eternally

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my odder stories. It's a mixture of headcanon and story fragments, all telling bits of the story of Tim Drake, ancient soul that is continually reincarnated when he dies. Of all the fanfic stories that I have which are unfinished, I think this one is the one that has the most possibility of having expansions, simply because I love the concept so much.
> 
> That said, I wouldn't hold your breath for more. I'm also quite content with where Ieft this one.

1\. Tim does his level best to fit into whatever family he’s born into. He’s actually very good at pretending to be a normal baby, normal child, normal teen, normal adult. None of his normal tricks worked with the Drakes and he finds it rather traumatic, not that he’d admit it.

2\. Ra’s views Tim/Melisande as his soul mate. If he could, he would put Tim into the Pit to prolong his life so that he didn’t have to suffer death ever again. Tim/Melisande won’t let him because what’s the point? He’s just going to be reborn and come back again. The separation will be brief.

3\. The first time Tim encountered Ra’s it was as Ra’s’ oldest brother. He helped birth Ra’s and adored the little boy from the moment he first saw his cranky little smushed-baby face. By the time they were both adults Tim knew that he’d miss Ra’s once he died. Then Ra’s found the Lazarus Pit and Tim discovered that he finally had one person who would never leave him behind.

4\. The evolution from brothers into lovers took quite a while. They became lovers before Tim was born as Melisande but it was furtive. Only once Ra’s and Melisande realized that they could actually be married and no one would care did they truly devote themselves to each other.

5\. Melisande’s loss to an assassin’s attack infuriated Ra’s but he wasn’t destroyed. He knew that his Beloved would be back and he was quite right. Five years later a little boy walked right up to him in a marketplace and demanded to be picked up. Ra’s stared at the boy and then laughed because he recognized that expression. Ra’s took the boy from his parents (without killing them because Tim didn’t want them dead) and they stayed together until Tim’s next death.

+++++

Damian stared at the coded message from his mother. It did not make sense. Certainly the words themselves made sense once he decoded it but the intent behind it was incomprehensible. There was no reason for this message, no logic or honor to it.

“Be nicer to Timothy.”

There was no explanation attached to the message, just the bare four words. Damian frowned, nearly crumpling the piece of paper. He growled and left his room, seeking out Drake. It took several hours to isolate Drake from Dick and Cass, who appeared to know that he had something to say to him. She distracted Dick and dragged him off to train with her. When Drake stood, Damian blocked his way and thrust out the slip of paper.

“Ah, yes?” Drake asked, blinking at it.

“I demand to know why Mother would direct such a thing,” Damian said. He allowed himself a bit of a huff. It was justified by this absurdity.

To his surprise, Drake’s expression became tender and loving at the mention of Talia. He stroked one finger over the slip of paper before schooling his expression back to something that was appropriately distant and uninterested. Damian frowned.

“I have no idea,” Drake said as he passed the slip of paper back. “Perhaps she feels that your rudeness is inappropriate from an al Ghul.”

The way he said it reminded Damian so strongly of Mother and Grandfather that his breath caught. Drake slipped around Damian, moving with too much grace. Certain of his micro-gestures, the tiny little flutters of fingers and arms that revealed so much of a person’s intentions, reminded him unbearably of Mother when she wanted to hug but did not feel that she had leave to do so.

“Grandmother?” Damian whispered.

Drake froze. He ceased breathing, stopped dead in his tracks for a long moment. When he turned to look at Damian there was a strange mixture of intense pride and fearful worry in his eyes. 

Damian stared up at Drake, Timothy, at the ancient being that had been by his Grandfather’s side for centuries. It was true. Timothy Drake was the reincarnation of his grandmother Melisande.  
Timothy opened his mouth though nothing came out. Instead, he held out a hand to Damian. That was all the invitation that Damian needed. He hurled himself into Timothy’s arms, hugging him desperately. To his surprise, Timothy was shaking.

“You are,” Damian whispered.

“Yes,” Timothy whispered back, his lips brushing against Damian’s hair. “So proud that you figured it out. I had to tell my Beloved and your mother. Neither of them realized it at first.”  
Damian laughed, letting Timothy pick him up and carry him over to the couch. Timothy seemed quite reluctant to let Damian go, which he found rather odd until he compared his mother’s descriptions of Melisande’s fondness for physical contact and Timothy Drake’s apparent reluctance to be touched.

“You have changed,” Damian observed as he wrapped his arms around Timothy’s neck for what Dick would probably call a proper snuggle-fest.

“If you mean the hugging, well, this has been a very difficult life,” Timothy replied.

He rubbed Damian’s back fondly, humming a lullaby that Talia had occasionally sung for Damian when he was hurt during training. Damian smiled as he decided that he would follow his mother’s directions. Timothy clearly needed a great deal more physical affection than he had gotten and Damian would have to make sure that he got it from now on.

+++++

1\. When Ra’s brings Not-Yet Tim home, Talia is Not Pleased. She still misses her mother and here Ra’s is doting on a child and calling him Beloved. She’s actually rather horrible to Not-Yet Tim for the first couple of hours. Then Not-Yet Tim looks at her sternly with exactly the same expression that Melisande did when Talia did something truly unworthy of an al Ghul. Not-Yet Tim scolds Talia, glaring up at her (since he’s like 4 1/2 or 5 years old and she’s about 11 or 12). Talia stares and says “Mother?” When Not-Yet Tim huffs and says “yes” he gets hugged right off his feet. There is no further trouble between them after that to Ra’s’ amusement. Talia forever treats the little boy as her parent, even though she’s older than him.

2\. Not-Yet Tim tried to tell his new parents that he needed to see Ra’s al Ghul many, many times before that day in the market. They didn’t believe him. They didn’t listen. He was the youngest of a herd of children and simply didn’t get much in the way of attention. Despite their stubbornness in returning him to his proper home, Not-Yet Tim makes sure that they’re well taken care of. He ensures that every single one of his siblings in that life get good educations and jobs. It’s something he tries to do in all of his lives but this time he makes a special effort because his parents in this life brought him back to his Beloved Ra’s.

3\. While Talia and Ra’s both extend their lives with the Lazarus Pit, Not-Yet Tim refuses to do so. This means that he ages much more rapidly than they do (and possibly has arthritis or premature graying, I’m not sure). I’m not sure whether he’s old and gray when Bruce shows up but he does look considerably older than Ra’s at that time. Ra’s finds it quite amusing to call Not-Yet Tim his older brother once again, though he’s just as likely to call him Beloved. Not surprisingly, Bruce finds this quite uncomfortable but neither of them explain it to him.

4\. Not-Yet Tim quite enjoys Bruce’s presence with the League during his training. He’s very aware that Bruce doesn’t agree with the majority of Ra’s’ methodology. That’s fine. Not-Yet Tim has some issues with Ra’s’ methodology as well. He has some issues with Bruce’s severe case of Black Or White syndrome, that there’s only Right and Wrong and Bruce Is Always Right but figures that Bruce will grow out of it as he matures. It’s one of the few cases where Not-Yet Tim really truly misjudged someone. 

5\. Not-Yet Tim (and his other incarnations including Melisande) can well and truly kick Ra’s’ butt. He’s fought for eons, lived many, many, many lives and learned some truly incredible stuff about how to kill. He has to reteach each body but that’s okay. Despite that, Not-Yet Tim (and his other incarnations) does his best not to get into fights. It’s such an inefficient way of solving problems.

And some random headcanon for the Tim Drake incarnation:

1\. Tim (and all his incarnations) loves hugs. He understands very well how important physical affection is to mental health and to a child’s survival. Finding himself in the Drake’s household where hugs are all but forbidden hurts him incredibly deeply but he tells himself that the universe sometimes has things for him to learn. Not overvaluing affection must be what he’s supposed to learn in this life. It doesn’t help at all.

2\. Dick’s parents death was deeply saddening for Tim. Seeing a child lose his parents in that way was horrible and Tim did the appropriately child-like thing of crying. What really caught his attention was not Dick’s response, which was totally appropriate, but Bruce’s. He knew right then that there was something different about Bruce.

3\. Tim actually didn’t connect Bruce Wayne, playboy with Bruce, League of Assassins trainee right away. It took studying him through newspapers and other reports for him to figure out that they were the same person. Batman was quite obviously League trained so it was a simple mental leap to connect them. He claimed that it was Dick’s triple summersault that tipped him off to their identities but Tim figured it out much sooner than that in reality.

4\. When Tim became Robin he worried quite a lot about Bruce recognizing that they had met previously. Bruce is brilliant and a great detective. As such, he downplayed his knowledge and abilities. Getting to train with Shiva was a huge relief because he no longer had to pretend that he didn’t know all those ways to kill or maim someone.

5\. Tim’s relatively certain that Alfred knows that he’s not quite a normal boy. He’s completely certain that Dick, Jason, and Steph have no clue. He’s fine with that. The only time he really wants to tell them is when he interacts with Damian. Having his beloved grandson treat him like he’s a horrible failure and waste hurts worse than almost anything he’s ever experienced in any of his lives, especially since all he wants to do is hug Damian until the boy relaxes.

+++++

“He is rather…”

“Short sighted?” Ra’s completed for his Beloved who grinned and wrinkled his nose the way that Melisande used to when she was amused by something Ra’s had done.

“Close,” Kamala said, nodding towards where Bruce fought against a half dozen ninja. “I was going to say rigid in his morals.”

“You are not?” Ra’s asked.

His hand settled on the small of Kamala’s back. It remained odd to be physically younger than his Beloved. Of course, it was equally odd when Kamala was reborn into a child’s body. It would not be long now. Kamala’s joints had been an issue since his twenties and the damage to his lungs from repeated bouts of pneumonia had not helped.

“I think I know where it will be,” Kamala observed with a gentle smile over his shoulder. His eyes were far too tired though he smiled warmly enough that Ra’s did not immediately insist that he return to bed.

“Your next life?” Ra’s asked though there was little else that it could be.

“Mmm-hmm,” Kamala said. “Jun’s wife bears a child soon. That… I feel some draw towards it.”

“Spend more time with them,” Ra’s ordered because having his Beloved born back into Ra’s’ immediate circle was worth more than all the gold in the world. “I would not have you away from me for any length of time, Beloved.”

Kamala laughed only to start coughing. The coughs did not stop until Ra’s bodily hauled him away from the railing over the training area and back to the couch by the fire with its many blankets and pillows. By the time Kamala’s breathing had stabilized Bruce was there, watching with a worried expression in his eyes.

“Is there any possibility that modern medicine could help?” Bruce asked. He sat at the foot of Kamala’s couch, arranging the blankets over his feet.

“No,” Kamala whispered, a fond smile stretching his lips. He looked so much older than his actual years that he could have been Ra’s father. “I am old, Bruce. What happens, happens. I am ready for my death when it comes. I shall be reborn so there is no reason to mourn.”

From the frown that creased Bruce’s face, he found that cold comfort indeed. Ra’s could not blame him even though he understood exactly what Kamala meant. Bruce clearly did not believe that Kamala was speaking literally when he said that he would be reborn. Even among the League few did. Ra’s made a mental note to ensure that Jun’s wife spent as much time tending to Kamala as possible over the next few weeks, though she would likely have to compete with young Bruce Wayne to do it. Anything that he could do to keep his Beloved close when he was reborn was well worth it.

+++++

1\. The first time Shiva saw Tim she thought he was just the right side of pathetic. Small, weak, hesitant, too moral. Then he looked at her, straightened up and became something that actually caught her breath in her chest. She wasn’t sure how he hid his true self so effectively so she agreed to train him.

2\. During the training Shiva learned as much as Tim did. It was more a matter of helping Tim relearn skills than teaching him things so she learned the skills as Tim taught them to his body. That didn’t change the fact that Tim got beaten up a lot. He was smaller, less physically developed and rather more moral than he should be.

3\. Shiva did not sleep when Tim was around. She would wait until he slept and then go sleep somewhere else. She literally could not relax enough around this young-ancient killing machine to sleep. Tim knew it perfectly well and never brought it up. In his first life with Ra’s the same thing happened so he was used to that reaction.

4\. Their training battles are still on record as unsolved crimes. The amount of damage done and the presumption that someone got viciously killed haunts the detectives’ minds to this day. Shiva is quite amused about that. Tim considers it regrettable but unavoidable. He rather misses their battles.

5\. When they parted ways it was slightly different than what happens in canon. Shiva promised that she would come back and find Tim to ‘test’ him but Tim only laughed quietly, saying that she was quite welcome to do so. He added that if she was still around in his next life (since by that point he’s more or less resigned to a short life this time around) he’d enjoy training with her again. The look in his eyes made fight or flight instinct rear up again as Shiva realized just how little she’d actually learned from him.

+++++

"Tell me again!"

Nasir grinned at his little brother Ra's before kneeling down to study his too-serious face. The little boy had been serious practically since the moment he was born. He pushed at Nasir's chest imperiously, all four year old urgency. When Nasir glanced at their father he chuckled and nodded that it was okay. They were almost done repairing the corral. It wouldn't slow the work down too much if Nasir abandoned it now.

"All right, one more time," Nasir said.

He scooped up Ra's, carrying him away from the corral that usually held in the sheep herd during the night. Currently their sisters were managing the herd so their yurt was quiet and still. Their step-mother smiled at Nasir, obviously grateful that Nasir was willing to tend to Ra's. His constant demands for attention and high energy wore everyone but Nasir out.

"Tell the story," Ra's insisted as Nasir sat with Ra's in his lap. "Nasir, tell the story!"

"I am, I am, habibi," Nasir laughed. "Give me a moment to get comfortable. Some of us have been working all day, you know."

"Sorry," Ra's said, managing a marginally contrite expression while still tugging at Nasir's thawb. "Story?"

Rather than scold him for impatience, as that never worked with his baby brother, Nasir cuddled the boy close. Their step-mother chuckled, bringing over water and some dates for them. Ra's grabbed one date, nibbling at it while Nasir drank to clear the dust out of his throat.

"Four years ago," Nasir said once Ra's had calmed enough, "Father's first wife, our mother, was pregnant with a very unexpected baby. She had borne me when she was young but never managed to bear another child to term. Father married her younger sister who bore only daughters. But then Mother got pregnant again with another baby."

"Me!" Ra's crowed.

"Yes, you, habibi, now hush. I'm telling the story," Nasir said. 

He tickled Ra's who laughed and squirmed before settling back into Nasir's lap with a rapt expression. Their sisters began to come in so the corral must be fixed. They looked at Nasir and Ra's, most rolling their eyes at the story time while the younger ones came and clustered at Nasir's feet to nibble at dates too.

"Mother's belly grew and grew," Nasir said, gesturing with one hand, "until her belly was as big and full as the moon. Her youngest sister was to marry but Mother could not make it there. Instead she sent her daughters to the wedding along with her sister-wife. Father had me remain with Mother because the baby was very close to its time."

"Me! That was me!" Ra's said, bouncing on Nasir's thigh excitedly.

"Yes, yes," Nasir laughed. "Hush!"

Their sisters hushed him too, prompting their father to laugh when he came into the yurt. Ra's glared at them all mutinously, hushing them back so that his story could continue. It took long enough that the older girls went to help finish dinner.

"If we're done hushing," Nasir said scoldingly to them all and then nodded when they all quieted down, even Ra's, "let me continue. Good. I took the sheep out and then brought them back, worried all the while about Mother and the baby she bore. When I came back in the yurt Mother was sitting by the fire, rubbing her belly with an angry look on her face."

"She was mad at me?" Ra's asked with horror even though he'd heard the story a million times.

"She looked up when I came in and said 'he's early!'," Nasir said in as close as he could get to their mother's gruff tone. "You were not supposed to be born for another fortnight, you see. I offered to run into town but Mother huffed at me and said that there was no time left for that."

Their older sisters slowed as they laid out the plates and dishes as did their stepmother. Everyone loved the story though only Ra's demanded it. Only Ra's, Nasir and their now-deceased mother had been there after all. All of them wanted to know how it had happened.

"What did you do?" Ra's asked as he always did.

"I followed Mother's instructions," Nasir said, leaving out how he had gathered the blankets, string and water on his own, how he had helped Mother into a better position, how she had questioned when and where he'd learned to midwife. None of them knew about his previous lives so there was no reason to explain it. "I was very afraid but she was determined that you would be born strong and healthy. When I checked I found that you were coming out feet first, as though you wanted to run around as soon as you joined the world."

Ra's crowed at that, making all their sisters laugh. Given how much time their baby brother spent running around it was an easy thing to believe. Their father grinned, settling at the table with a nod that told Nasir that it was time to wrap the story up. It wouldn't do for dinner to get cold.

"What next?" Ra's asked, tugging at Nasir's thawb again. "What happened next?"

"I cradled your body as you were born," Nasir said, hugging Ra's who giggled, "and then when you shoulders came out realized that the cord was wrapped around your neck. Mother was worried but you had the cord in your hands, holding tight so that it couldn't strangle you. When you were finally born you glared up at me and wailed so loud that Mother swore that you were telling Father to come home quick."

Father laughed as did Ra's. He gestured for the girls to come to the table, looking at Nasir and Ra's, his only sons, indulgently as Nasir hugged the little boy who had ruled his heart since that day. Ra's tugged more gently on Nasir's thawb, his face serious.

"And Mother?" Ra's asked.

"She lived," Nasir said softly, just for Ra's. "She was very tired, very weak, but she lived. No one expected it given her age and how hard the pregnancy had been. Mother loved you very much, habibi. Two years later, when you had learned to run faster than anyone but me, you encountered a cobra. Mother saved you from it but she was bitten."

"To protect me," Ra's said, solemn and serious.

"To protect you," Nasir agreed. He pet Ra's' cheek, smiling at him. "She loved you very, very much, just as I do."

"You'll protect me too?" Ra's asked.

"Always, habibi," Nasir said, kissing his forehead. "Now, it's time to eat. Off we go."

Ra's scrambled off his lap, watching as Nasir stood. He tugged at Nasir's thawb and then stared up at him with that same angry intensity that had shown when Ra's was born. It was too old a look for such a little boy. Nasir frequently wondered if Ra's might be like him, a soul that was reborn repeatedly, not that he had any stories of previous lives to tell.

"I'll protect you too," Ra's declared. "When I'm bigger, I'll always protect you."

Nasir grinned. "I don't doubt that at all, habibi. Now come on. Don't let the food get cold."

Ra's grinned brilliantly and ran over to take his place between their father and step mother. Nasir chuckled and joined them with a good bit more grace. He didn't doubt that Ra's would do exactly that. If there was anything that Nasir had learned over his eons of being reborn it was how to recognize a person destined to do great things. 

His little brother was going to be great someday, truly great.

+++++

1\. When Cass first meets Tim she realizes right away that there’s something very different about him. She can’t put it into words. After associating with him for quite some time she still can’t put it into words. But Tim, to her, reads as ‘kind-gentle-dangerous-OLD-OLD-OLD-young, no young, not old-scolding himself-sees Cass-lights up with joy-young and old-love-love-love-love’. She can’t figure out the old/young part but the sheer joy and love he feels when he sees her reassures her enough that she hasn’t said anything to anyone about it. (Tim rather wishes that she’d comment because he’s desperately curious about how he reads to her but won’t ask. For reasons. That always seems stupid when she’s away and irrelevant when she’s there. He really loves Cass.)

2\. Barbara is well aware that Tim learns things entirely too quickly, even for a genius. She’d take it as a compliment to her teaching ability but Tim learns EVERYTHING too quickly. She’s explained it away as a photographic memory coupled with a near-OCD drive to be perfect at everything. It bothers her when she has insomnia. (Tim isn’t aware that Barbara’s noticed his speed of learning. She hides her concerns very well.)

3\. Steph didn’t notice anything about special about Tim when they first met. He was fun and dorky and pretty messed up from his parent’s terrible job of raising him but he was a good guy. Once the fake death thing happened she really noticed the change. He was such a different person that she thought that maybe he’d been replaced by a pod, except for the fact that he remembered all their past together and sometimes the old Tim poked through. By the time he went on his quest to save Bruce, Steph wasn’t sure if the early Tim was the lie or if the new Tim is. She really wants to know but has a hard time getting close to do it. (Tim truly loved Steph and her death cut him to the core. Finding out that it was a lie hurt even worse. He’s had so many painful things happen in this life that trust has become a really big issue for him. Eventually he’ll let Steph back in, but never to the same level as when they were Robin and Spoiler together. He just can’t trust that far anymore.)

4\. Kon hasn’t noticed a thing. Seriously. Not one single thing about how different Tim really is. Sure, he’s noticed that Tim’s a lot more cold and grim than he used to be but hey, a lot of bad shit happened. No biggie. He’s still Kon’s Robin and Kon will always be Tim’s Clone Boy. (Tim has this sort of helpless, desperate, just barely platonic love for Kon in this ‘verse. If Kon ever looked at him that way he’d give it up instantly just because he loves Kon’s open nature that much. He’s not going to say it but the emotion’s there, buried under all the masks. He kind of thinks that even Ra’s would like Kon once he got to know him.)

5\. Bart knows exactly what and who Tim is. He’s always known but he doesn’t know if Tim knows. Or if Tim knows that he knows. He learned all about the Reincarnate in the future and knows not to tell Tim or anyone else about it. (Tim, on his side, has no clue whatsoever that Bart knows what he is, what he does after death. He’d probably freak out badly if he did know. Deep in his ancient heart, Tim still hopes that the next death will be the last one, even as he knows that it won’t be. Existing for all eternity terrifies him so he never thinks about it if he can help it.)

+++++

Damian made sure that no one was in the hallway or coming up the stairs before slipping into Timothy’s room. So far he had managed to prevent Grayson or the others from realizing that anything had changed between him and Timothy. More than likely the others would be quite delighted in the lack of hostility but Damian would not be the one to reveal Timothy’s secret. It was his choice when, where and how to reveal his immortality. Damian would not presume to tell his Grandmother how such things should be handled.

"Habibi?" Timothy asked as Damian shut the door quietly. "Is something wrong?"

He looked up from the computer, frowning at Damian with enough worry that Damian felt a blush stain his cheeks. Rather than answer, Damian came over and, daringly, leaned into Timothy’s side. Timothy chuckled and wrapped one arm around Damian, pulling him close to press a gentle kiss against his forehead.

"Truly," Timothy said in his ancient-accented Arabic, "is something wrong or did you just want to visit?"

"No, nothing is wrong, Grandmother," Damian replied in the same language. "I just… Tell me a story? Please?"

When Damian dared to lift his eyes from Timothy’s shirt to his eyes he was surprised to see the tender, almost tearful, expression there. Damian would not say that he gasped but his in-drawn breath was more forceful than normal. Timothy laughed and ran one gentle hand over Damian’s cheek, the tears shining a bit more brightly in his eyes though they did not fall.

"There was another young boy who asked me that question," Timothy said as he stood and went to the couch along the far wall of the room. "He would ask me for stories every time I came back from grazing the sheep. In fact, it became something of a joke between us."

"Truly?" Damian asked as he curled up against Timothy’s side. "What stories would you tell?"

Timothy grinned at Damian, joy shining from him as though he was the noon sun overhead. “Just one story, actually. The story of how he was born. Sometimes you remind me very much of my Beloved, habibi. In many ways you are my Beloved reborn in another generation.”

It took a moment before Damian realized what Timothy was saying. He blushed so brightly that his ears felt hot. Admitting that his heart felt as though it would beat straight out of his chest was unacceptable so Damian cleared his throat and blinked away the unwelcome tears that came from being compared so favorably to his grandfather.

"Then tell me that story, Grandmother," Damian demanded in an appropriately haughty voice. "Mother told it to me but I would hear how you tell it."

His tone made Timothy laugh with delight. He pulled Damian even closer, all but holding Damian in his lap. Damian allowed it, enjoying the slender strength that Timothy possessed in this life while wondering what he had been like in that first life with Grandfather, what he’d been like as Melisande.

"As I said," Timothy began, "every time I came in from the fields your Grandfather would run up to me and demand that I tell The Story. He was a demanding little boy but he was the youngest of our family so we all spoiled him where we could…"

Damian smiled and set his head on Timothy’s shoulder as his Grandmother, his Timothy, filled his mind with images of his Grandfather’s childhood so long ago.

+++++

1\. Tim has an interesting view on death. He's experienced death so many times in so many ways that he simply doesn't fear it anymore. It happens and he's reborn shortly thereafter so why fuss over staring death in the face? Every time he gets close to dying the people around him realize that he's reacting very, very oddly (far too calm and bold) but only a few of them every understand why.

2\. Despite that, Tim isn't suicidal. He has no desire to experience death again. Death is generally painful, almost always messy, and only on vanishingly rare occasions does he manage to die old and loved in his bed. No matter how bad his lives get, Tim doesn't think about killing himself because he's very aware that the next life might be much worse than the current one.

3\. What Tim fears is the rebirth. He's existed for somewhere around 50,000 years. The early lives are a blur (other than some encounters with a certain black haired, blue eyed, entirely too stoic man adrift in time) so he's not sure the exact duration of his existence. That's a long time. Tim would welcome true death with open arms but it's not what he gets when he dies. He knows that he's going to spin from one painful death into a new life full of different pain, different lessons and different people. It's terrifying to think that his existence will never end.

4\. Until Tim (in his life as Nasir) met Ra's, he had no one that he could focus on life to life. No one lived long enough. He was forever adrift among humanity, old but young at the same time. Ra's gave him so much more than brotherhood. He gave Tim, the ancient reincarnated soul, the hope that he wouldn't be alone for all of time.

5\. Tim can direct his rebirths to some degree. If he focuses on a particular person (Ra's, almost always Ra's) he can be born close to them. He learned it long before Ra's was born, during a lifetime spent studying with the Buddha. Only once Ra's became immortal did he have a real reason to use the technique.

+++++

_'Keep moving,'_ Nasir said in Tim's ear. _'She's not that heavy.'_

_'So you say,'_ Kamala chuckled. He hobbled alongside Tim, his Tibetan embroidered robes strange in the deadly heat of the desert. _'I think that Timothy and I would disagree with that. Prudence is not a small woman.'_

"Much too heavy," Tim panted at Nasir. "And profane. At least she's quiet right now."

_'Granted,'_ Nasir said with a gracious nod of his head. _'My apologies, Tim. You are almost there though.'_

Tim would have sworn that Nasir shouldered part of Pru's weight but that was a figment of his imagination, just as they were. His side ached where he'd been stabbed. There had to have been venom on the blade for him to be hallucinating his previous selves. The only reason he was still moving was the stubborn determination that he would find Bruce. This life was bound to Bruce's for some reason, no matter how much Tim wished that he could return to Ra's' side. He would find Bruce, no matter what it cost him personally.

The sheer loneliness of being Timothy Drake was nearly enough to make Tim wish for death but no, that wasn't something that he could have, not now, maybe not ever.

He managed to sneak back into his hotel room through the window he'd used to slip out. The balcony outside was very helpful in that regard. Tim wasn't sure how much longer he was going to manage to stay awake. Despite his injuries and blood loss, Tim had wanted to stay awake until Pru's retrieval team found them. It was inevitable that Ra's would send someone to locate them. If Ra's followed League protocol they would be swept, along with off of Tim's belongings, to one of Ra's' hideouts.

At this point he couldn't figure out any other way to ensure that they got proper medical care short of demanding that Ra's tell him 'the story' or mentioning Venice.

_'Little one, there is a strange woman in your room,'_ Melisande said with a disdainful sniff that told Tim quite clearly that whoever it was held no threat. _'I would expect a great deal of screaming in a couple of moments if I were you, which I am.'_

Tim flopped Pru on the bed, panting and then collapsing as well. A thousand of his incarnations looked down at him, some angry for his lack of endurance in this life, some with regret or worry. He smiled up at them as consciousness faded. Maybe 'Tim' would join his invisible gallery shortly, allowing him, the person who had inhabited all those bodies, to move on to a new life.

He rather hoped that if he did die he would manage to end up close to Ra's this time. Being apart from his Beloved all this time had been heart wrenching.

+++++

1\. The first time they kissed was three lifetimes before Tim was born as Melisande. He was seventeen. Ra's at that time looked approximately ninety as he was overdue for a dip in the Lazarus Pit. Ra's was flabbergasted by the kiss but Tim knew that very shortly his beloved brother (for whom Tim's emotions had ceased to be brotherly quite some time ago) was going to be mad and violent and it hurt to see him that way.

2\. Ra's never hit Tim during the pit madness. Not once. He screamed, occasionally broke things in Tim's presence, but he never once harmed Tim in any way. It didn't matter how much the rage and madness of the pit burned through Ra's, he could not and would not harm the one soul that he loved more than anyone else.

3\. Whenever Ra's would get in a mood, whether from the Pit or being foiled or even just a bad mood, his people knew to send Tim to him. Or if Tim was currently old to remind Ra's that Tim had need of his Brother. They could all see, in every generation, that Ra's and Tim balanced each other beautifully.

4\. Tim has always and will always be prone to obsessive behavior. He has always been a bit OCD, though never excessively unless he's away from Ra's for too long. Sleep is always a challenge for him, too, as he tends to get lost in his memories of previous lives or stuck in his plotting for future events. Ra's can snap him out of it easily, just as Tim can snap Ra's out of his behavior.

5\. The hardest time for Ra's' people (and for Ra's and Tim) is the gap between Tim's death and his return to Ra's' side. Ra's is much more cold and ruthless without his Beloved around, much more driven. In the last two or three generations whenever Ra's dies his people discreetly scatter around the world trying to find his Beloved as quickly as humanly possible. Most of the time it's easy because Tim knows them. Tim's rebirth as Timothy Drake is the longest they've been apart since his birth as Melisande.

+++++

"A vacation."

Melisande laughed softly at the expression of pure disdain on Ra's' face. She had expected that he would object to taking time away from his League but she was quite determined. Having finally won Ra's over to the concept of making their generations-long relationship more official, Melisande had no intention of simply returning to the status quo.

"A honeymoon," Melisande said while running her fingers along Ra's' neck teasingly. 

She allowed them to trail down his chest, to stroke the firm muscles in his stomach and then to flirt with his groin as she so rarely did anywhere that they could be seen. The room was not properly private but that was the point. They were engaged. In three days they would be married. As husband and wife they had the perfect freedom to touch each other as they willed.

After a half dozen lives where all touching was either familial or furtive, Melisande had no intention of letting this opportunity slip through her fingers.

"Where?" Ra's asked a good deal more indulgently.

"I thought perhaps Venice," Melisande said.

"Venice."

The single word was packed with so much disgust that she couldn't help but laugh again. This time when she pressed her body against Ra's' it wasn't met with such an indulgent expression. Melisande allowed her smile to become fierce, revealing the warrior that she would always be no matter which body she wore. That worked far better to soften Ra's' mood than anything else could.

"You have someone you wish to kill there, Beloved?" Ra's asked.

"Oh no," Melisande said. "I have plans for our time there."

"Plans." This time the single word was a question, one filled with more than a little bit of trepidation.

"We will stay at the Centurion Palace," Melisande explained while slipping one thigh between his legs. "In the penthouse. We will go out and see the sights on the tenth day. We will shop on the eleventh day, perhaps for two or three hours. Then we will come home on the twelfth day."

"And the other days?" Ra's asked while curling his hands around Melisande's hips.

"We will stay in bed and I will show you all the things I've learned about making love in my long existence," Melisande whispered against his throat.

Ra's shuddered exactly as she had expected him to. The kiss was everything that she had wanted and then some. Her Beloved was, after all, no stripling inexperienced in the ways of love. By the time they managed to part lips both of their clothes were on the floor and Melisande was certain that several of Ra's' ninja were traumatized. She hardly cared as Ra's carried her off to the bed. As he laid her down and settled on top, Ra's chuckled.

"I find your reasoning quite persuasive, Beloved," Ra's murmured against the gentle swell of her belly.

"Of course it is, little brother," Melisande laughed. "I am much older than you, after all."

Ra's laughed before moving down lower between her legs.

+++++

1\. Once Ra's accepted that his brother had been reborn, they set up a system so that when Nasir (Tim) died and then was reborn into a different body, they could identify each other. Ra's tried different phrases, different things that only each other would know. Tim found it quite annoying because they already had the perfect way to recognize each other: The Story, the story of how Ra's had been born.

2\. Early on very few of Ra's' people truly believed that Tim was being reborn. It seemed far more impossible than Ra's' immortality. A new body, a new life, completely different gender, race? How could it be the same person? That didn't change the fact that Ra's made it perfectly clear that if someone, especially a very small child, said the proper things then that person was to be brought to him immediately.

3\. By the time Tim was born as Melisande, Ra's' people accepted much more easily that there was a person who was reincarnated repeatedly. No one understood it but they accepted it. During Tim's life as Melisande he/she was born at some distance from Ra's. It took until early adulthood for him/her to make his/her way back to Ra's' side but the protocols held quite well once Melisande presented herself.

4\. The protocols were altered in that lifetime. Before it had been 'the story'. After that life, the best and fastest way for Tim to identify himself was to mention 'Venice'. Their shared time in Venice for their honeymoon was so memorable that it was the perfect signal.

5\. Talia is quite aware that Venice is important to Ra's and her mother. She does not know the details of why, nor does she wish to know. Some things Talia is perfectly happy to leave alone.

+++++

Tam screamed at the sight of two bloody bodies lying on Tim Drake / Alvin Draper / Timothy Wayne's bed. She froze for a moment and then hurried over to check if they were alive. The bald woman shuddered when Tam touched her wrist. It was harder to tell if the man was alive but when she leaned close to check if he was breathing he whispered the word 'Venice'.

"Venice?" Tam asked. "What? What does that mean? Hey? Are you awake or what?"

She screamed again as a horde of ninjas swarmed through the window with drawn swords. They knocked Tam away from the bed, several pulling out bandages to stabilize both the bald girl and the man in the suit. Tam shivered and tried not to move very much. There were at least two blades pressing into her body and she really didn't want to find out if there were more.

"What are you doing here?" one of the ninjas asked.

"Um, ah, looking for, for Timothy Wayne," Tam stammered. "It's, it's Wayne business. Important stuff. Um."

"What did he say?" the ninja asked after nodding once entirely too slowly for Tam's comfort. "Before we came in, what did he say?"

"I um, think he said 'Venice'," Tam said even more nervously. "I think. Maybe. I just barely heard him. He is alive, isn't he?"

"He is always alive," the ninja said with so much relief in his voice that Tam stared at him. "You will come with us. Bring her and all of the belongings."

The ninjas ninja'ed away, making Tam's suitcase and all of Timothy Wayne or maybe it was Alvin Draper's things disappear. When they hustled Tam towards the window she thought about struggling but the blatant relief in the ninjas' eyes and posture made her think that maybe things weren't quite as bad as she thought at first.

Several hours later, after Tim (because the guy in the red and black suit had been Tim Wayne/Drake/Draper/whatever) had woken up and spent several hours alone with the head of the crazy ninjas, Tam found herself in the middle of a meeting of ninjas. Tim wasn't at all what she'd been expecting but after this long hunting him down she supposed that it shouldn't surprise her too much.

Still, finding out that Timothy Wayne was the lover of the leader of an international league of assassins wasn't something that she could ever have been prepared for.

+++++

1\. Tim is generally very careful about who he reveals his immortality to. He's had problems in the past where people found out and tortured him for 'the secret' so that they could be reborn too. Unfortunately Tim has no idea why or how he's reborn. He just is. If he could give it away, he would. But no one ever believes him about that so he's learned to be very, very cagey about it.

2\. If someone finds out about it that Tim doesn't want to have know, Tim deflects them. He has a thousand explanations for his knowledge and skills, for the oddities of his behavior. They range from being excessively well educated about history (or simple nerdiness in our generation) out to more mystical things that he rarely has to call upon.

3\. As science has developed, Tim's gotten even more careful about revealing what he is. There's a big difference between being able to convince the people around you that you're a god or an angel because of your knowledge and skills and knowing that having those knowledge and skills means that scientists would like to dissect you. Possibly while you're still alive.

4\. Still, even in lives where Tim isn't right next to Ra's, there's usually someone that Tim trusts with his immortality. Having those memories and living that long is a huge weight on him. He does his best to put it behind him but it affects him in many ways. Having someone he can be fully himself with is such a relief. That's part of the reason he loves Ra's and Talia so much. They're his true family, the ones who accept him no matter what he's been in the past or who he may become in the future.

5\. There were a thousand different points during Tim's childhood, training and tenure as Robin where he thought about calling Ra's to come and get him. It was only his conviction that the universe wanted him to guide Bruce somehow that kept him from picking up the phone. After Bruce's 'death', the only reason Tim didn't admit it immediately and beg for Ra's' help in bringing Bruce back was that he felt guilty and confused by everything that had happened in this life. He was more than a little messed up by his life as Timothy Drake, not that Tim would admit it to himself. He'd also come to care about Bruce, Dick, Jason, Barbara, Steph, Cass and Alfred as much as Ra's, Talia and Damian so telling Bruce that he was Ra's' beloved threatened to cut him off from his family. And one thing Tim has a horrible time doing in any lifetime is abandoning family.

+++++

Bruce glared at the surveillance that Barbara had forwarded to him. Seeing Tim talking so intimately with Ra's al Ghul was a slap in the face especially after the near disaster with Captain Boomerang. It was painful to realize that Tim truly had been compromised during Bruce's long absence but this was the final proof. He'd wondered how Tim had gathered so much proof of his trip through time so quickly. Now he knew.

"Hey, what's up, Bruce?" Dick asked.

He leaned against the back of Bruce's chair as the recording looped back to the beginning. Dick gasped at the close up of Tim and Ra's staring into each other's eyes as if they were long-lost lovers. Bruce heard Steph and Tim talking as they came down the stairs. Damian's voice sounded as well, which meant that everyone other than Alfred was present. Cass had gone back home several days ago, before this data came to light.

"This can't be real," Dick whispered. "It can't be. Bruce, where did you get this?"

"Barbara forwarded it to me," Bruce murmured as he tapped the button to put the recording on full screen.

The image of Tim and Ra's kissing covered most of the wall. Dick's horrified hiss was nearly drowned out by Steph's startled exclamation. Damian said something entirely inappropriate for a child his age in Arabic while Tim only sighed. To his surprise Tim came over and calmly stared up at the screen. When Bruce turned to look at Tim, his expression was perfectly calm if a bit wistful.

"Do you have an explanation for this?" Bruce growled.

Tim looked at him, one hand over his mouth. "No. I don't."

"Tim!" Steph gasped.

"You should…" Damian said and then looked away as if he was biting his tongue to keep from saying anything else.

Dick said something that came out completely incoherent behind Bruce, which both Tim and Bruce totally ignored. When Tim allowed his hand to fall from his face, he was smiling so gently and serenely that he looked like a different person than the young man Bruce had known over the last couple of years. Something about his expression reminded Bruce of another person he had met but he couldn't place who it was or when he'd met them.

"Timothy," Damian said in Arabic while gripping his elbow. "This… you can explain. You can."

"I know I can, habibi," Tim said in flawless Arabic though his accent was a bit archaic. "I will eventually. Not now though."

"What the heck is going on?" Dick demanded. Steph nodded her enthusiastic agreement his question.

Once again Tim didn't answer. Instead he patted Damian's arm fondly before turning and heading for the stairs. Bruce stood, glaring at Tim's back. He hadn't wanted to believe that Tim was truly compromised but he had to be.

"If you leave, don't expect that you'll be able to come back," Bruce growled.

"What happens, happens, little one," Tim said in exactly the tone that Kamala had used so many times during Bruce's training. "I'm too old to worry about such things."

"Tim?" Bruce asked, his heart beating faster because no, that wasn't possible.

Tim smiled as he looked straight at Bruce, something ancient and tired in his eyes despite the smile. It was exactly Kamala's expression after he'd had a really bad coughing fit, the sort that made him hide handkerchiefs stained with blood from Ra's. When Tim spoke it wasn't in English or even his oddly accented Arabic. He spoke in Tibetan.

"I am ready for whatever happens, Bruce," Tim said and he truly sounded like Kamala as he spoke. "I am old. Very old. I told you before I died that I would be reborn. It is a pity that even with everything you have experienced you do not believe."

"Where will you go?" Damian asked before Bruce could formulate his thoughts into anything resembling speech. He sounded desperate and looked it too when Bruce turned to look at his son.

"I think I'll take a vacation," Tim said with a grin that looked so strange on his too-serious face. "I haven't had one in entirely too long."

"But where?" Damian asked with much less worry.

"Venice," Tim replied.

He grinned at Damian's bark of laughter and nod of comprehension. Tim left, already pulling his phone out as he climbed the stairs. Bruce listened, still stunned, as Tim's voice echoed down the stair well to where they all stood in silence.

"Hey Tam?" Tim said entirely too cheerfully. "Sorry to drop this on you so quickly but I've decided to take a vacation. Yes really. Yes, an actual vacation. No, I'm not sick. No, I'm not being threatened by ninjas either. Yes, a real vacation, Tam. Venice. Yes, Venice. No, you can't stow away in my luggage. Take your own vacation. Mmm-hmm. Thanks Tam!"

The door at the top of the stairs cut his voice off, leaving Bruce to try and figure out what was going on and how he could have missed something this major. Or maybe how he could have been so blind as not to recognize Kamala inside of Timothy Drake.

+++++

Tim smiled as his cab drove him up to the Centurion Palace. The trip from Gotham to Venice was a long one. He'd spent most of his time on the plane reading books that he hadn't had time to read. It was such a luxury to know that he had absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go. Once the cab stopped, Tim got out. The valets hurried over to take his luggage.

Rather than focus on them, Tim pulled out his phone and called Ra's. The private line rang twice before Ra's picked up.

"Yes?"

"Beloved, I have a month free," Tim said in Arabic because that was always his instinctive choice of language when it came to Ra's. "I'm in Venice. Do come visit, won't you?"

The shaky inhalation from Ra's said more than words could. Tim nodded to the valet once they were inside, directing him to head for the front desk. By the time Tim sauntered over his reservation had already been pulled up and all he had to do was sign. Six messages had already accumulated from Bruce, Damian and Steph (faxed), with three (transcribed) from Tam that all basically threatened him with massive work if he didn't bring her back goodies.

"I will be there as quickly as I can, Beloved," Ra's finally said.

"Good," Tim replied. "I'll see you soon then."

He hung up to the sound of Ra's shouting orders that had to do with packing, planes and now. The suite was everything that Tim remembered it being, updated quite a bit from his last visit here. He smiled as he leaned on the balcony rail with his messages in hand.

_"I would appreciate an explanation of exactly what happened"_ was all that Bruce's message said. Tim set it aside with a mental note to talk to Bruce in about a month. He would need that long to do the research Tim knew he needed to do into his previous incarnations. Hopefully Bruce would actually do the research without holding off. There was a great deal for him to learn.

_"Grayson is most annoying and I do not wish to be without you for long, Grandmother"_ Damian's note began. It continued for several paragraphs, in increasingly agitated script, ending with _"Please come home soon or at least return to Grandfather soon. He misses you."_ The unwritten corollary that Damian missed Tim made him smile and pet the note happily.

Steph's note began with expletives, continued into ranting about Ra's, more expletives, before finishing off with _"I don't know what's going on but you better explain when you get back, boyfriend!"_ She even put a little drawing of herself glaring and shaking a fist at Tim.

Tim chuckled and folded all the notes up, tucking them into his pocket for later. He would explain. After so long lying and pretending, Tim was tired of it. Bruce and his brood had become as much of his family as Ra's and Talia were. The chuckling increased into full belly laughter as Tim wondered whether Bruce realized that he'd gathered a brood of children around himself. Very likely, Bruce hadn't quite gotten it. Granted, Tim's addition to the mix had changed the dynamic quite a lot simply because anything Tim got involved with never went quite as planned but it was still a messy, glorious, complicated family and it all revolved around Bruce, the poor unsuspecting Bat.

"Oh dear," Tim sighed, wiping his eyes and grinning out over the canal. "I think I'll take some photos."

Ra's wouldn't show up for hours at best so Tim did have the time. He rescued his camera from the luggage and meandered out onto the street behind the Palace to take pictures. The cab drivers looked at him as though he was insane, as did the valets but Tim couldn't bring himself to care. This was his vacation and he was going to enjoy it. Besides, the light was at exactly the right angle to paint the street gold and red.

It felt good to shed Tim Drake's neurotic skin and fall back into his deeper self. He no longer remembered what his name had been in that so long ago first life. Honestly, he felt comfortable calling himself almost anything under the sun. But there was a difference between who 'Tim Drake' was and who _he_ was.

Tim Drake was young, driven, and rather more neurotic than was good for him. He was old, so very old, no matter what his face looked like. While he did care quite passionately about a great many subjects, he would never be described as 'driven'. The neuroses were quite real, though Tim's issues were not at all the same issues that he had.

"Sir," one of Ra's' local minions said as Tim slowly strolled by. The man was clearly Italian but there was something about the way he held himself that screamed 'League'.

"How long?" Tim asked while taking a picture of a particularly beautiful mosaic façade behind the man.

"The master anticipates that he shall be here within four hours, Sir," the minion replied calmly if a bit tightly.

"Then I have time for some food and some more pictures," Tim said, allowing himself to smirk at the way the minion shivered. "Relax. This is a vacation, nothing more. I think we both needed it badly."

"Thank you, Sir," the minion breathed as though he might just pass out from relief. "May I recommend a restaurant?"

"Certainly!" Tim said, grinning at him. "Do lead on. I slept on the plane so I find myself ready to enjoy myself."

The enjoyment Tim took in the man's sudden sheen of sweat on his forehead was pure Melisande while Tim's happiness at having someone to talk to was very much Tim Drake. Nasir was inside of him with his quiet joy at being reunited with Ra's and Kamala at the sense of peace that came from not pretending to be someone that he wasn't.

Yes, he really had needed a vacation, a nice long one with nothing important to do.

+++++

1\. Tim's earliest memories, associated with his very first life, are terribly vague. He remembers being dark skinned, living somewhere in Africa. Very few of his memories are clear enough to call up, other than one memory of looking up at the stars at night. The Milky Way was bright across the sky like a scattering of shiny diamonds against black velvet. There was a faint breeze carrying the scent of his family's camp fire and spring flowers in bloom. In the distance a lion roared while birds sang quietly in the bushes around him. All he remembers other than that image is a yearning for something more, something greater than what he had currently.

2\. The wanting more continued through Tim's lives. It drove him to learn new skills, go new places. Wanting more prompted him to open up in each life, sharing himself with the people around him. Many, many times he got smacked down when he opened up but every so often he met someone who made it all worthwhile. Ra's was the best chance he ever took, during his lifetime as Nasir.

3\. Ra’s doesn’t like to take time off ‘work’. He feels that whenever he does so his people fall into lazy habits and things go down the drain. Tim, in all his incarnations, likes to encourage Ra’s to take nice long vacations. He’s observed that while Ra’s’ people most definitely do slack off, they also come back at things with much more vigor and enthusiasm after the vacation. Ra’s refuses to admit that Tim is right about it but whenever Tim says he’s in Venice or going to Venice, Ra’s is right on his heels. None of Ra’s’ minions suggest that they take a vacation though. It’s a good way to end up dead.

4\. Ra's has watched Tim through his lives since their life as brothers. He's well aware that Tim naturally holds back from people. He's also well aware that Tim doesn't treat Ra's that way. In the beginning, the first couple of lives after Tim was Nasir, he didn't understand it. Holding oneself apart seemed to make so much more sense. It wasn't until several lives later that Ra's really understood it that Tim loved him, truly loved him. That was when their relationship began to change from brothers though it took a while before either of them made a move.

5\. Tim's lifetime as Melisande remains one of his favorites. He adored getting to be Ra's' wife. He loved being Talia's mother. Melisande and Ra's had so many plans of what they would do together, which were unfortunately cut short by Melisande's murder. Ra's still hopes that someday they will be able to fulfill some of those dreams. Tim hopes so as well, though he doesn't think it will happen during his lifetime as Tim Drake.

+++++

"Dude, what the heck are you doing in Venice?"

Tim blinked at Kon, laughing when he realized that yes; Kon really was hovering off his balcony. He gestured for Kon to come in, automatically glancing at the clock. Two more hours before Ra's could possibly show up; there should be time for a talk with Kon.

"I'm taking a vacation," Tim said.

"No, really?" Kon asked, so startled that he stared at Tim like he'd grown a second head.

"Really." Tim grinned. "I needed one."

The pictures he'd taken while out were on his laptop. Some of them had potential so Tim had been editing them. Kon whistled when he saw them, a grin blooming on his face that reminded Tim of their early days in Young Justice. No surprise, Kon stole his laptop and paged through the photos, nodding at some, making faces at others.

"Why'd you take so many pictures of that street, dude?" Kon asked. "It's not that special."

"It was golden," Tim explained, "filled with golden light that made it look magical. I didn't think I'd manage to capture it. Cameras have a hard time recording that particular shade of light."

"Huh."

Tim settled into his chair, watching Kon with the sort of fondness that used to be reserved for Ra's when he was a little boy. So often he didn't think about the friends he'd made in this lifetime. There was Kon and Bart, his first friends among the superhero crowd, the first that he'd thought might accept his odd form of reincarnation. Not that he'd ever been brave enough to tell them. Plus Cassie and Rose and Secret and everyone else. Dick and his hugs. Steph always made him think of bricks and laughter, joy and sorrow. Barbara with her astringent sense of humor that was always so much fun to listen to. He wondered how she would take the revelation that was coming.

Kon looked up at him, looked back at the screen and then peered at Tim as if trying to dissect him with his eyes.

"Dude, you have the creepiest look on your face," Kon said.

"Really?" Tim said with a wry grin. "I was just thinking about how much I love you and the others."

"Uh-huh." Kon's snort of disbelief would have hurt if he hadn't been fighting a grin and blushing ever so faintly. "You don't say."

"No, normally I don't but I'm not being a Bat right now so it's okay," Tim replied.

He let the grin widen, not at all surprised that Kon started snickering. Three seconds later Tim was enveloped in one of Kon's hugs, the sort that included TTK and Kon laughing and the sensation of hugging a furnace. Tim returned it with all of himself, infinitely grateful that he had Kon in his life again.

"You want me to stick around and keep you company for a while?" Kon asked once he let Tim go.

"I am expecting someone in about an hour and a half," Tim said with exactly the right level of archness to make Kon blush and then beam at him.

"Oh-kay then!" Kon laughed. "I thought this was a solo vacation. Who's the lucky girl? Tam? Steph? Someone new?"

Tim paused, biting his lip. He could lie. This was the perfect opportunity to lie. Kon wouldn't suspect a thing until much later. Instead Tim shook his head, refusing to acknowledge the nervous flutters in his stomach.

"Actually, it's a guy," Tim said. "I've been involved with him for a very long time but didn't feel like it was safe to say anything. Bruce… doesn't approve. At all."

"Whoa, really dude?" Kon asked. He pushed the laptop back over to Tim. "Huh, I wondered if you were into guys. Some of the things you said from time to time made me, you know, wonder. But it's cool, you know, really. It is. So um, who is it? Someone I know? Not that you have to tell me if you don't want to. Just, you know I'll support you no matter what. As long as he takes care of you right, that is."

"He does," Tim said, the nervousness much worse. "I… I really love him and I know he loves me but everyone else is going to go a little crazy over it."

"So?" Kon asked just hopefully enough that Tim was able to overcome the Tim Drake's nervousness and find Melisande's joy.

"Ra's," Tim said, swallowing hard at the shock in Kon's eyes. "It's Ra's."

"Dude, not Ra's al Ghul?" Kon asked with that narrowing of the eyes that meant he was scanning Tim for bugs, bruises and who knew what else.

"The same," Tim sighed.

Kon got up and started pacing. From the look on his face he was running through every 'logical' objection that he could come up with but every time he turned at looked at Tim the objections seemed to die on his lips. Tim wasn't sure what expression was on his face. He wasn't brave enough to check in one of the mirrors scattered around the room. But it didn't really matter when Kon stopped and stared at Tim with his 'worried but you're the boss' frown.

"You really love him?" Kon asked. There was neither hope nor disapproval in his voice or expression, only curiosity.

"Very much so," Tim said. "We've been together for… oh, wow, about eight hundred years now."

"You're like, immortal too?" Kon asked, this time with a grin that obviously expected Tim to make it into a joke.

"Sort of," Tim said. "I age and die like everyone else but I'm reborn with all my memories and skills."

This time Kon's eyes were wide with the sort of shock that he'd shown when Tim first took off his mask for the Titans. It was the shock of 'I don't think I'm supposed to know this' and 'You aren't supposed to tell me things like this, dude!' Tim smiled wryly.

"Sorry, but I'm sick of hiding it," Tim said. "You're my best friend, Kon. I hope… it doesn't change anything?"

Kon hugged Tim so suddenly that he nearly knocked Tim out of his chair. He was shaking a little bit but then so was Tim so it was okay. Neither of them said anything for a long while. By the time Kon actually let Tim go the butterflies in his stomach had settled down. Tim laughed quietly when Kon took his hands and stared into his eyes.

"Dude, that is freaky and weird and I want to know everything," Kon said. "Come on. Give. How's it work? How long have you been alive? Are you always a guy or are you a girl sometimes? Where've you lived and what have you done? I want to know so make with the talking!"

Tim laughed, the relief so intense that he nearly felt like he was floating. He checked. No, no TTK floating. After a quick squeeze of Kon's hands, Tim settled back into his chair again, basking in the glow of Kon's curious grin. This had to be the best response he'd ever gotten when he'd told someone what he was.

"It's a long story," Tim offered as a way for Kon to opt out if he didn't want to listen.

"I got time for you, Rob," Kon said while making a 'get on with it' gesture.

"Just remember that you asked for it, Clone Boy," Tim laughed.

+++++

1\. Kon went back to the Titans after talking to Tim and all but exploded with the need to tell someone about Tim and his weird form of immortality. The others realized it but only Bart was willing to listen as Kon spluttered incoherently. When Bart just nodded (once Kon actually managed to explain it coherently), Kon stared at him in shock. He was more than a little surprised to find that Bart had known all along.

2\. Bart ran over to visit Tim and Ra's about three days into Tim's vacation. He didn't tell Tim that he'd known all along, instead saying that Kon had told him. Tim didn't think to ask if Bart might have heard about him in the future because his secrecy was such a habit to him. Ra's thought about asking but something about Bart's expression when he began to ask (while Tim was turned away) made him leave the subject alone.

3\. Bruce and Barbara spent Tim's entire vacation turning up more and more inconsistencies about Tim. Barbara took them as a threat until Bruce confided in her about his interaction with Kamala and Ra's during his training. Her research then turned up dozens of records showing someone who had been Ra's' Beloved for centuries, a person who curbed the worst of his excesses and made Ra's into nearly a positive figure in the world. That Timothy Drake might be that same person befuddled both of them.

4\. Steph and Tam got together to compare notes after a week and a half. They came to the conclusion that Tim was Ra's' lover and that it was the weirdest thing they'd ever heard of. Neither of them were terribly upset about the whole 'lover of the leader of the League of Assassins' thing. They were both upset about the secrets Tim kept and fully intend to get on him when he gets back for it.

5\. Damian spent Tim's entire vacation writing Tim a letter every single day. At first he hid the fact that he was faxing them to Tim from Bruce and Dick but after Dick caught him at it he stopped hiding it. Dick had no clue of what to make of the suddenly improved relationship between Tim and Dick but he was cautiously optimistic about it, even if he was still completely freaked out about the Tim/Ra's romance.

+++++

"See ya, Tim!"

Ra's paused as he entered the suite that Timothy had chosen for their vacation. He had not expected to see his Beloved standing on the balcony with Superboy. Even less expected was the brilliant and highly approving grin that Superboy threw in Ra's' direction. From the laughter and joy shining in his Beloved's eyes, they had been talking for quite some time.

"Bye, Kon!" Timothy said. He waved as Superboy flew away; only turning back to Ra's once Superboy had flown out of sight.

"I take it you chose to tell him, Beloved?" Ra's asked.

Timothy's smile remained a bright and beautiful thing as he stalked over to Ra's. There was very little of Timothy Drake in him at the moment. Ra's could see Nasir and Melisande, plus large swathes of Kamala, in Timothy. The kiss was every bit as intense as the first they'd shared in Venice so long ago. When Timothy pulled back he sighed, leaving his arms wrapped around Ra's' neck. His smile was tender, shy and thoroughly inviting.

"I did," Timothy said. "It was time. Bruce somehow got footage of us together when you were helping me safe him from his trip through time."

"Ah, that explains the suddenness of this vacation," Ra's said. "How long do you plan on staying away, Beloved?"

"Mmm, at least a couple of weeks," Timothy said with a shrug that made it clear that he was fine with much, much longer than that. "Probably a month. People will start asking questions if Timothy Drake-Wayne doesn't come back to Gotham in a reasonable amount of time. And…"

He stopped, a cloud of sadness passing across his bright face. Ra's pet Timothy's cheek only to smile at the way he leaned into Ra's' hand. Yes, this was his Beloved, the one that he had decided to dedicate his long life to. It had been entirely too long since they had any substantial amount of time together. Hopefully this vacation would be sufficiently quiet for the both of them to expend their considerable amount of lust on each other.

"Yes?" Ra's asked when Timothy did not continue.

"They're family too, Ra's," Timothy said, worry and doubt in his beautiful eyes. "I don't want to lose them. I don't want to lose you either, not for the rest of this life. I'll always come back afterwards, of course."

"I would not want you to lose those that you love, Beloved," Ra's murmured while pulling Timothy into his arms. "I know how important love is to you. We will discuss it and make plans to ensure that you do not lose them all."

"Later," Timothy said with that earliest of chuckles that Melisande had used whenever she planned on hauling him straight to bed. "Bed now."

"Yes, bed now, Beloved," Ra's agreed. 

He laughed at the sparkling laughter in Timothy's eyes. Their brief interlude after Timothy was stabbed by the Council of Spiders assassin had, of necessity, not been particularly amorous. Loss of internal organs rather prevented it though Timothy had seemed willing to try during their private conversation. Ra's, of course, had not allowed that sort of foolishness. He would not find his beloved only to lose him to death once more due to stupidity on their part.

"I missed you," Timothy murmured as they made their way to the bed together.

His light jacket fell to the floor alongside Ra's' coat. They left a trail of shoes, shirts, pants and underthings, arriving at the bed appropriately nude. The scar where Timothy had lost his spleen was well healed, already faded to a pale pink mark against his Beloved's fair skin. When Ra's ran his fingers over the scar Timothy shivered.

"I wish that you would allow me to submerge you in the Pit, Beloved," Ra's sighed as he knew that Timothy would never allow it.

"As I've said for eight hundred years," Timothy said with a smile that was merely wry despite the subject of conversation, "I'll just come back in a new body anyway. There's no point to it. I am being careful of my health now. I know what losing a spleen does to you."

"Good," Ra's said.

Rather than continuing to discuss it and risking an argument, Ra's pulled Timothy close. His lean body reminded Ra's of that first time when they had crossed the line from brothers into lovers. The kiss was pure Melisande though, passionate and full of the yearning that they both felt. Ra's blessed the gods that he had never believed in that he was fresh from a recent dip on the Lazarus Pit. He was able to return Timothy's passion with every bit of the passion he felt.

The spot under Timothy's ribs that had made him gasp as Melisande made him squirm ticklishly. However, the spot on his hip bone that had been too ticklish in most of Timothy's lives now made him buck and moan needily. Ra's smiled, more than happy with that little change. He nuzzled Timothy's lips before kissing and biting his way down to those hipbones that needed attention.

"Oh God, yes!" Timothy gasped when Ra's bit him there. He rocked under Ra's' hands and mouth for a long moment before growling. "Beloved, if you don't take the lube I'm going to have to get very violent on you."

Something cold tapped against Ra's' shoulder. It was a small bottle of the lube, scented with the musk that they had favored ever since they came together as lovers. Ra's grinned, taking it and biting that spot once more. Timothy cursed in every language that Timothy Drake knew, plus several archaic dialects that were no longer spoken. Ra's laughed.

"Beloved, you do realize that we have all the time we need, don't you?" Ra's said as he set to work preparing his love for what was coming.

"Ra's," Timothy said in that excessively clear diction that meant he had best do as he was told if he wished to avoid an unscheduled dip in the Pit, "I've waited long enough. There's time for tenderness later. Fuck me or I'll tie you up and do it to you."

A firm thrust of his fingers into Timothy's ass with a twist upwards to his prostate made Timothy shout and grin with a promise to return the favor in the very near future. Ra's laughed again. He stroked Timothy's prostate, milking it nearly brutally while Timothy thrust down against Ra's' fingers.

"Beloved, I think I would be quite disappointed if you did not do exactly that at some time during this vacation," Ra's said.

"More, now," Timothy moaned.

He shouted when Ra's gave it to him, clinging with arms and legs while babbling praise in the dialect they had spoken when Timothy was Nasir. Ra's smiled and did his best to drive Timothy straight up the bed and into the wall with their love-making. There would indeed be time for gentleness later. Now was the time to reclaim what was theirs. His release came immediately after Timothy came, clamping down and wailing in his orgasm.

"Mmmmmm," Timothy sighed once they had collapsed back to the disordered pillows. "I needed that."

"Hmmm, I find myself wondering where you will find the rope," Ra's said against Timothy's neck.

He laughed in earnest when Timothy reached into the bedside table and pulled out a lovely coil of black rope for them to use. Timothy grinned at him when Ra's pulled back enough to meet his eyes. The joy that had been so absent when they'd seen each other before was back in full measure. Ra's smiled and gently kissed his Beloved.

"I have missed you, Beloved," Ra's murmured against Timothy's lips.

"And I you, Beloved," Timothy whispered back. "And I you."

The End


End file.
